Monday, July 12, 2010

Voting is Open: More Movies for Michael5000

The polls are now officially open! You, the L&TM5K readership academy, shall now vote from the slate of nominations to determine the ten movies from 2007 to 2010 that I shall watch and review, Great Movies style.


Here's how it works:
  1. You have up to ten votes.
  2. You may NOT use multiple votes on a single movie (e.g., "five votes for An Education")
  3. However, you may designate one favorite "must-see" movie for which your vote gets double weight.
  4. Finally, to give proceedings a catty frisson, each of your ten votes may be either positive or negative. So, you can give the list of the ten movies I SHOULD watch, the ten movies I SHOULDN'T watch, seven I should and three I shouldn't, or whatever.
  5. Explaining your votes is strictly optional.

Voting remains open until, say, after work Thursday evening, at which point I will make my own votes -- hey, I'm part of this community too -- and announce the results. Then we'll get down to some serious movie watching.

The Nominees
  • An Education
  • The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  • Avatar
  • Charlie Wilson's War
  • Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
  • Crazy Heart
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • The Dark Knight
  • District 9
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  • The Fall
  • Food, Inc.
  • Frost/Nixon
  • The Hangover
  • Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
  • The Hurt Locker
  • In Bruges
  • Juno
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Man on a Wire
  • Milk
  • Mr. Bean's Holiday
  • No Country for Old Men
  • Precious
  • Rachel Gets Married
  • Ratatouille
  • A Serious Man
  • Sleep Dealer
  • The Taking of Pelham 123
  • There Will Be Blood
  • Toy Story 3
  • Tropic Thunder
  • Twilight
  • Up in the Air
  • Valkyrie
  • Watchmen
  • Zombieland

32 comments:

The Calico Cat said...

1 - Should NOT watch Avatar
2 - Should see No Country for Old Men
3 - Should see Milk
4 - Should see Juno
5 - Should see Toy Story 3
6 - Should see Food, Inc.
7 - Should see Charlie Wilson's War
8 - Should see Precious
9 - Should NOT see Twilight
10 - Should see Frost/Nixon

Random order
Caveat: So many on this list I had not heard of or had no opinion about...

Jennifer said...

I've seen only 3.25 of the movies on the list (most of which, I note, are animated), so I think I won't vote. If you want my review of Kung Fu Panda, Ratatouille, Avatar, or a quarter of No Country for Old Men, though, you know where to find me!

McGuff said...

The only times I go to an actual theater any more is with my kids. So this is a short list:

SEE Ratatouille. Reasonable story, great blend of computer animation and drawing/artistry, realistic depiction of a professional kitchen. I love that rat.

SEE Man on Wire (unless there's some other movie called Man on A Wire, you're referring to). Saw it on satellite. Gets repetitive in parts, but fascinating most of the way. Especially if you have any level of fear of heights.

SEE (with nieces in tow): Kung Fu Panda - only becuase Jack Black is kind of funny.

AT YOUR OWN RISK: Juno

DON'T BOTHER: The Dark Knight

Kritkrat said...

Personally, I don't understand how anyone can not want to see a MK5000 review of some of the worse movies ever made. My ten votes go to:
Avatar
Dark Knight
Food, Inc.
The Hangover
Juno
Milk
Zombieland
Twilight
Up in the Air
Up - this one is not on your list and I can't figure out why unless it's because you already know this is the first one you are going to watch...

Ben said...

I would like to see you review all of the following, not necessarily because I think they're good or bad--I would just like to see what YOU have to say about them:
1. Avatar
2. Charlie Wilson's War
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Crazy Heart
5. District 9
6. Frost/Nixon
7. Milk
8. There Will Be Blood
9. Tropic Thunder
10. Watchmen

Thom said...

+ for

The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (how did I forget this film? I can onlya ssume I thought it was out of the time range. IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!!)
Frost / Nixon
No Country for Old Men
There will be blood

- for

the hangover
kung fu panda
mr bean's holiday
tropic thunder
valkyrie

Elizabeth said...

Let's see. Of the ones I've seen:

Avatar - well, I liked it, but it's not worth seeing unless you're doing it on a big screen in 3D because it's honestly nothing but cool effects. Since you won't be doing that, I would say you should NOT watch this one.

District 9 - I liked this a lot. You SHOULD watch this one.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - it was silly fun, enjoyed with a nephew, but I had to watch the first in the series first. If you're going to watch it, I recommend you do the same, but all in all, not something you should spend your valuable movie-reviewing time on, so put this on your NOT list.

Kung Fu Panda - apparently I have seen mostly kid films over the past two years. This is cute but NOT worth your time.

Mr. Bean's Holiday - if you like Mr. Bean. Which I usually do. This had genuinely hilarious moments and some incredibly tedious ones as well. Sure, go ahead and watch this one. SHOULD.

Ratatouille - you SHOULD see this one. It's funny.

Okay, that's all I have actually personally seen. I'm up to 3 SHOULD and 3 NOT, so hm, I'll recommend the ones I want to see, and you can watch them for me.

SHOULD: Precious, Crazy Heart, In Bruges

and one I do NOT want to see: Twilight. Much as I would enjoy your review, I disapprove of throwing money at this particular franchise. Do NOT see this one. Or read the book. It's pretty tedious, I think.

UnwiseOwl said...

MUST SEE - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: I figure that no-one else is going to vote for this, but if you miss it you'll be missing a gem of silliness in your otherwise straighlaced lifed (did I mention that one character rips out the heart of another and eats it? In a G-rated film?)
Should SEE - The Dark Knight. We see a mighty large number of superhero movies at the moment, and this is a classy reinterpretation of one of the most iconic heroes, so as a comic book nerd I couldn't help but squee.
Should NOT SEE - Watchmen. The comic is just better, although the senseless violence that ruined to comic book for me is still here in spades.
Should SEE - Frost / Nixon. It's just good, they almost feel like real people. Almost.
Should SEE - Up in the Air. Speaking of real people...
Should NOT SEE - No Country for Old Men. I fell asleep during it. People seem to be raving about it, but meh.
Should SEE - Mr. Bean's Holiday. If Mr. Bean is your thing, then this is for you. If Mr. Bean isn't for you, then pffh. Also, romance.
Should SEE - Avatar. There's an awful lot of hate out there for this film, and I don't think that it's all justified. It's no worse than most blockbusters as far as content, but the anti-popular backlash is vicious. Plus, the bad guy is just so ridiculously badass that it's worth seeing just for him. 'Ridiculously' is definitely the word.
Should SEE - Ratatouille and Charlie Wilson's War. I still haven't seen either, so you should watch them and tell me what you think.
Owl Out.

Morgan said...

1. Should see Charlie Wilson's War.
2. Should see The Taking of Pelham 123
3. Should see Valkyrie
4. Should see The Dark Knight
5. Should see District 9.
6. Should see Watchmen.
7. Should see Up in the Air.
8. Should NOT see Hellboy 2.
9. Should watch Twilight - actually I admit that I just want to see you review this one.
10. Should see Mr. Bean's Holiday.

Chuckdaddy said...

See Juno, No Country, Milk, Frost/Nixon, Avatar, Up in the Air, An Education, and Dark Knight.

That's only, so I'm going to break the rules and give a nomination and vote- Ghostwriter (Polanski, not Cage). Just saw it, wife and I both thought it was a great political thriller.

And maybe you should watch Twilight, because I'd like to hear your review.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

The Hurt Locker
Precious
Twilight
Up in the Air
District 9
The Dark Night
No Country for Old Men
The Hangover

...I'm having a hard time figuring out what all the fuss is about with regard to these films and I do so respect your creative opinion...

austin said...

Should see, because I dug:

Crazy Heart
Frost/Nixon
The Hurt Locker
Man on a Wire
No Country for Old Men
Precious
A Serious Man

Should see, because I'm curious what you'll think:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
There Will Be Blood

Should not see, because two hours of your life is worth more than anyone's curiosity:

Tropic Thunder

Rex Parker said...

Should (bec. they'd be interesting to write about, not nec. bec. they are good):

Rachel Getting Married
Ratatouille
In Bruges
Dark Knight
Hangover
Precious
Tropic Thunder
District 9

Should not:

Toy Story 3
Avatar
Food, Inc.
Twilight
Watchmen
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Hellboy 2

Ann Piper said...

DO NOT watch, because it cannot be un-seen:
Avatar

DO watch, because it is effing incredible:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

nate said...

Should see:
- District 9
- Frost/Nixon (Double Points!)
- In Bruges
- No Country for Old Men
- Ratatouille
- Toy Story 3
- Up in the Air

Should NOT see:
- Watchmen
- Twilight
- Tropic Thunder

eric said...

SEE:

Avatar (must see - the wildly divergent opinions about it in these comments alone should be enough to make you at least a little curious)

District 9
Frost/Nixon
Juno
Milk
There Will Be Blood
Valkyrie

DO NOT SEE:

Charlie Wilson's War
The Hangover
Precious

jovaliquilts said...

I'm not a movie buff, so if you really get into movies, your taste may be very different. Here's my list (short, because I haven't seen most of them).

1. MUST see -- Juno
2. See -- Charlie Wilson's War
3. Don't see -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (waaay too long & boring!)
4. Don't see -- The Dark Knight
5. See -- Frost/Nixon
6. See -- Milk
7. See -- No Country for Old Men (I found it hard to watch but it was good)

KarmaSartre said...

An Education
Juno
District 9
Milk
Rachel Gets Married
No Country for Old Men
Man on Wire
The Hurt Locker
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

(only 9 that I can vote for from experience)

Christine M. said...

An Education
Juno
Up in the Air

that's about all i've seen of those nominated.

Have you seen The Fantastic Mr. Fox? If not, I'd like to make it a write-in candidate.

Rebel said...

The only one I'm going to vote for is the Hangover. That movie was hilarious. Don't get all analytic about reviewing it though. Just watch it for some laughs. I haven't seen many of the others... but those I have didn't leave me with enough of an impression to care about one way or another. And doesn't *that* say something?!

Jenners said...

# The Hangover- Must See
# Up in the Air
# Toy Story 3
# Tropic Thunder
# Juno
# Kung Fu Panda
# The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
# The Dark Knight
# The Hurt Locker
#District 9

Aviatrix said...

1. Should NOT watch Avatar (and if double negatives are allowed, this is the one that counts double) because it's a waste of time and special effects.
2. Should watch Food, Inc., because it's important and the more people there are who care about what they eat, the more demand there will be for actual food.
3. Should watch Tropic Thunder because it was so bad I couldn't watch more than a few minutes, but I am still curious about how it went, and I want to know the limits of your bad movie endurance.
4. Should watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, because I've never heard of it and would like to know about it without having to go to the trouble of Googling it.
5. Should watch Twilight, because I think your review will be both fair and hilarious.
6. Should watch Watchmen, because for the people who like that sort of thing, it's apparently a very good movie, and you might be the sort that likes that sort of thing.

That's all the votes I wish to spend.

cecil said...

District 9
The dark knight
In Bruges
No Country for old men
A serious man

mrs.5000 said...

OK, I decided I'd be crazy not to weigh in on this. It's in my best interest!

My votes for are:
Man on Wire
Up in the Air
Ratatouille
Frost/Nixon
District 9
Milk
Juno
The Ass. of J.J. by the Cow. R.F.

and, I'm going to throw some wild trust in Ann Piper's judgement with:
a double vote for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
and a vote no for Avatar

DrSchnell said...

1. Should see Jesse James
2. Should see The Dark Knight
3. Should see Milk
4. Should see Toy Story 3
5. Should see Ratatouille
6. Should see Avatar (not for greatness, but for cultural literacy)
7. Should NOT see Twilight (cultural literacy be damned)
8. Should see Diving Bell and Butterfly
9. Should see Juno
10. Should see Rachel Getting Married.
My double vote goes to hmmm... how about Milk.

sister jen said...

1 Double vote for The Assassination (which I will probably always think of now as Mrs. 5000 has shortened it)
2 In Bruges
3 An Education because I hadn't heard of it and don't know why and want to know about it
Don't know enough about the rest to say.

Eric said...

Can I cancel one of my "DO NOT SEE" votes to throw a positive vote at "Rachel Getting Married"? That was really a great flick.

Kristin said...

Being a generally all-around positive sort of girl, I'm going to focus my list on the movies I think you SHOULD see. I also ought to point out that my list is really just the subset of films on your list that I happen to have seen. Quite frankly, I expect I'll read your reviews of films I've already seen with much more enthusiasm than those I haven't (and probably never will, either).

1. Rachel Gets Married
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Milk
4. Avatar
5. Frost/Nixon
6. The Hangover
7. Juno
8. Up in the Air

Kristin said...

Oops. Here are my last two.

9. District 9
10. The Dark Knight

SnowGirl said...

Worth watching...
Crazy Heart
The Dark Knight
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Hurt Locker
The Hangover
Milk

Other of my faves from that time period...
The Visitor
Starting Out in the Evening
Lars and the Real Girl
The Lives of Others

Have fun!!

IamSusie said...

I have seen 28 of the movies on this list. I am not good at following the rules, so here are my thoughts...

Judging by what critics say, most of the list are worth watching, although as a regular reader of your movies feature, I imagine several will not be to your liking. Also, as any regular reader of Roger Ebert knows, just because a movie is bad doesn't mean that the review will not be interesting..

Zombieland is totally crazy fun. You should definitely see that one. The Hangover is hilarious.

A few on your list totally suck, although they might be good to review. The awful ones (IMO) are Cloudy with Ch. of Meatballs, Dark Knight, District 9, and Twilight. Actually, Twilight is a total hoot. We had fun watching it. Avatar only stinks after the initial glow wears off. You should totally review that one.

I do not think that you will like Crazy Heart or Rachel Getting Married as they are very actory and not much really "happens". I might be wrong!

I was surprised that I loved Kung Fu Panda...

I loved A Serious Man and No Country for Old Men, but my husband didn't like the endings. I wonder what your thoughts would be on these.

Precious is the most powerful movie I have seen in a very long time. I taught students like her, although my students were younger. It is tough to watch.

I will stop there before I give my opinion on each of the 28 I have seen. I love the movies! Even the bad ones~